Dish Network Offers $2 Billion to Buy LightSquared's Radio Spectrum

Published on: 21st May 2013

Note -- this news article is more than a year old.

Although it is bidding USD25 billion to buy a majority stake in Sprint Nextel, that hasn't stopped Dish Network from offering USD2 billion to pick up the radio spectrum assets held by bankrupt LTE wannabe LightSquared.

LightSquared is essentially dormant at the moment after the launch of its LTE
network was blocked by the regulator following a long-running dispute over
interference to GPS receivers.

The offer is being reported by Bloomberg News as a so-called stalking-horse
agreement, used in bankruptcy proceedings to establish a minimum price for an
asset sale. A stalking-horse bid would have to be approved by the judge and then
would be opened up to an auction.

Citing sources, Bloomberg said that any deal to sell the spectrum would raise
money to pay off secured debts the company built up when trying to deploy its
LTE network.

The company has until the middle of next week to accept the offer, after
which it has to be put to the bankruptcy judge.

Even if the judge approves the commercial transaction, the matter would have
to pass regulatory approval, and rival networks can be sure to object to Dish
Network, which already has a swathe of unused radio spectrum buying up more, at
a time when it is also bidding to buy Sprint Nextel.